EXETER – For the first time in its history, the American Independence Museum will extend its season past October, opening two days a week beginning November 1 through December 27, 2013. Beginning November 1, the museum’s hours will be Thursday and Friday, 10 am - 4 pm (the museum will be closed for Thanksgiving holidays, November 28-29).

In conjunction with this change, the board of directors of the American Independence Museum also announced that Julie Hall Williams, the museum’s interim administrator, has been promoted to executive director.

“This has been a year of re-organization,” says Allison Field, president of the museum’s Board of Governors. “Museum attendance is on par with last year and we’re very grateful to the community for embracing July’s American Independence Festival and making it successful. We’re excited to welcome visitors for an additional two months this year.”

Williams cites the commitment of museum volunteers as another reason the museum is able to remain open this fall. “We’re able to extend our fall hours due to the incredible dedication of our volunteers,” she says. “Staying open later in the year enables us to better meet the needs of our visitors, as well as experiment as to how we may serve our community in different ways moving forward.”

Williams, who came to the American Independence Museum in April, has helped the museum recruit volunteer guides, increased membership support, and broke records in securing sponsorship for July’s American Independence Festival.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer Julie this promotion,” says Field. “She’s been instrumental in rallying support for the museum and is an integral part of our future.” The museum has also hired Michelle Johnson of Manchester to coordinate museum programming.

The American Independence Museum closed to the public in fall 2012 due to financial constraints and re-opened in June 2013. Originally opened to the public in 1991, the American Independence Museum encompasses the 1721 Ladd-Gilman House, a National Landmark property, and the Folsom Tavern, built c. 1775. The permanent collection of documents chronicling the nation’s founding includes an original Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence and early drafts of the U.S. Constitution.

The museum’s mission is to be a place for the study, research, education and interpretation of the American Revolution and of the role that New Hampshire, Exeter, and the Gilman family played in the founding of the new republic. The museum is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., through October 31 (guided tours at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.). Admission is $6, $5 seniors, $3 students ages 6-18. For a complete list of fall programs, visit the museum’s website at www.independencemuseum.org.